


Half-Life and Portal Drabbles

by EvilToTheCore13



Category: Half-Life, Portal
Genre: Cave and Caroline could be platonic or not, Drabble Collection, Gen, The Cave one is kind of sad, The G-Man is creepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2020-12-24 01:43:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21091322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilToTheCore13/pseuds/EvilToTheCore13
Summary: A collection of Half-Life and Portal drabbles, some for the r/fanfiction Discord Drabble Night, some for other challenges and prompts.





	1. Skeleton

**Author's Note:**

> I know The Supermen hasn't updated for a while. I've been pretty busy but don't worry, it is not abandoned. Chapter 8 is nearly written, I just haven't been able to get to it and write it for a few weeks, and the plot is planned out.  
In the meantime, I managed to find time to write a drabble. Here it is.  
I also might be posting some older work of mine at some point, although The Supermen will be my priority.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the r/fanfiction Discord Drabble Night. Prompt: "Skeleton."

Gordon liked to think of himself as a rational kind of guy. His whole life, he'd valued logic and facts above anything else. But there was no logical reason for his fear of this man. Everything about him just seemed... wrong. He was too thin, for a start, practically skeletal, and as pale as a corpse. That combined with the hoarse rasp of his breath should have made him far from intimidating. And yet nothing about him seemed weak. Overwhelming power almost radiated from him. Gordon couldn't explain how he sensed it, but he knew he was helpless in comparison.


	2. Cooperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Portaltober prompt Cooperation. Written for mantismen on Tumblr since I am currently rewarding people who send me asks with drabbles (because I am desperate enough to be asked about headcanons that I resorted to bribery).

Cave Johnson didn't trust people. Not anymore. Back when he'd started Aperture he'd been a real optimist, head full of crazy ideas from sci-fi stories, thinkin' he'd set up somewhere where the world's greatest scientists could work together on somethin' big-- hadn't even known _what_ exactly, but somethin'. Should've known better.

His company full of Black Mesa spies, Breen makin' money while Cave Johnson, CEO of Aperture Science, could hardly afford to keep the lights on in his office. No scientist could've denied the evidence.

Caroline was the exception. Course she was. But apart from that... humans couldn't be trusted.


	3. Cheerleader (double drabble)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, a while ago the Discord Drabble Night had the prompt "cheerleader" (during their friendship-themed drabble night in February I think). And I couldn't think of anything for it so just noted the prompt down. Then yesterday I was going through my prompts list, found this, and (inspired by mantismen to write more about Cave) I wrote this double drabble.

“So, why do you do it?”

Caroline turned to the scientist. “Do what?”

“Hang around him all the time, being his… whatever you are. His ‘assistant.’ Sidekick. His personal cheerleader.” He scoffed. “ And what do you get out of it?”

“I’m working at the best science company on the planet. I get a lot out of it.”

“You know he’s just gonna take credit for everything you do, don’t you?”

It was a common assumption. No-one thought Mr Johnson would have any respect for someone like her. Correcting the scientist wouldn’t be worth the effort. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.

* * *

“You’re the backbone of this facility. I’ve told you that, right?”

“Many times.”

“You and me, we’re gonna change the world… Sendin’ people to the Moon in five years, Mars in ten. I couldn’t do it without you.”

Caroline laughed to cover her surprise. It wasn’t the first time Cave– no, Mr Johnson– had said something like this, but she’d never expected to be recognised by anyone.

She paused, remembering the scientist earlier. He’d never understand what they were working towards. His words shouldn’t matter, but they stung. “The things you say about me. You sound like my personal cheerleader.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think a lot of people assumed Caroline was some kind of easily manipulated sidekick who just ran around obeying Cave all the time when that was the furthest thing from the truth.


End file.
